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Surrey firms could net up to £60 million in contracts through county's biggest ever schools expansion programme

Surrey County Council has said its pledge to back business could net local firms up to £60 million as part of the biggest school expansion programme in Surrey’s history.

Around 30 primary school construction contracts worth £50 million are set to be awarded through the BuildSurrey website over the next two years.

On top of the school work, £10 million of other council building and repair deals will be offered through the site, subject to the county council cabinet giving the go-ahead.

The cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday (February 4).

BuildSurrey was created by the county council to boost its drive to ensure 60% of the authority’s spending on goods and services is with local businesses.

Growing demand, fuelled by a surging birth rate, means Surrey needs to create 10,000 school school places over the next three years.

The increase has come on top of the council creating 6,000 – the equivalent of 15 primaries – since 2010.

Tony Samuels, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for Assets and Regeneration Programmes, said: “Local businesses are the cornerstone of every community, creating jobs and spurring economic growth.”

Coun Samuels said: “If they thrive, we all prosper, and that is why we have pledged to ensure 60% of our spending is with local firms.

“The £60 million of work they will do will contribute to helping us push on with the biggest schools expansion project Surrey’s ever seen, which will see 10,000 school places built over the next three years to meet growing demand from demographic changes beyond our control.”

Surrey was recently given one of the biggest shares of funding in the country by the Government to go towards paying for the thousands of extra school places. Whitehall allocated £72 million over three years to the council for its plans to create the 16,000 extra school places. In December, the county council announced plans for an extra 90 places at Holmesdale Community Infant School in Alma Road, Reigate, amongst proposals to boost capacity at six schools.